Graham Potter’s six-word Chelsea dig picked up by microphone after West Ham defeat

muttered a sly comment about his spell as manager before taking his press conference on Monday evening.

The boss made an unsuccessful return to Stamford Bridge, where he previously spent seven turbulent months in charge of the Blues. Potter was sacked in April 2023 and spent nearly two years out of the game before landing the Hammers job.

He almost took revenge on his former employers, with Jarrod Bowen giving West Ham a one-goal lead by the break. But Pedro Neto equalised in the 64th minute, before an own goal decided the contest in favour of the hosts.

As Potter sat down in the media room before taking questions, he was seemingly reminded of his tough few months at Chelsea, in which he was frequently grilled after disappointing results.

And although he may have tried to say it under his breath, microphones still detected him : “I don’t miss being in here.”

Potter has now won one, drawn one and lost two of his first four games in charge of West Ham, having replaced Julen Lopetegui in January. But the manager feels his players were unfortunate not to get more out of Monday night’s game, citing controversy around both Chelsea goals.

“We felt unlucky with the first goal,” he explained. “We felt it was a foul on Jarrod.”

There was also debate around whether the ball touched Chelsea forward Marc Guiu, who was in an offside position, but officials determined there was not enough evidence to prove that he made contact.

“I haven’t seen it back,” Potter continued. “It took that long, it must have been tight. The second one is a deflection. We have to focus on what we did well and the spirit and performance. Our supporters appreciated the performance of the team. You need a bit of luck. We felt unfortunate with the lead-up to the first goal. It wasn’t to be.”

West Ham are now 15th in the Premier League standings and 10 points above the drop zone, despite having spent heavily on signings last summer.

There were no permanent incomings or outgoings at the London Stadium during the winter window, although Evan Ferguson arrived on loan from Brighton and James Ward-Prowse was recalled from his spell at Nottingham Forest to assist Potter in his push up the table.